No to development on nuclear site

Oldbury Power Station is set to be decommission in 2008

Residents near Oldbury Nuclear Power station in south Gloucestershire want the site left to nature when it is closed down next year.

Over 1,000 people who live within a five mile radius of the plant responded to a public consultation on what should happen to the site.

The survey showed people do not want the site left in full control of the nuclear industry or redeveloped.

It is scheduled to close as part of a national decommissioning programme.

The Site Stakeholder Group (SSG), which is made up of local representatives, commissioned the study which was carried out in November 2006 to discover public knowledge and opinions about the site and its future.

It found 60% placed a high importance on what the state of the land would be once it is decommissioned.

Wind power

The survey revealed almost half of the people spoken to were unaware the station was due to cease generation at the end of 2008, and would move to a period of defuelling and decommissioning.

It also highlighted that 20% of respondents knew that fuel rods would be removed from the site's reactors once power generation stops, resulting in 99% of the total radioactivity being removed from the site within two years.

Mike Hawkins, chairman of the SSG's End State Sub-Group, said: "We know that this is a very complicated issue and that respondents were only given a simplified view of the site on which to base their decisions, but we may now follow-up on these results with a more detailed consultation."

Alan Pinder, SSG member and local Friends of the Earth representative said: "We are very pleased to be consulted on this important matter.

"Decommissioning Oldbury will be a huge task, so it is vital to get it right, both for local people and for the environment.

"There are some very interesting options for the site when the nuclear power station has gone, including tidal or wind power."